Mother and daughter hadn't seen each other in over 25 years. Then a fateful TV segment changed both of their lives forever….

KAMI recognizes that the family is an important part of an individual's life. In fact, we totally agree when American basketball player and head coach John Wooden once said, "The most important things in life are family and love."

However, it is also true that sometimes, we overlook these important gifts in our lives. Oftentimes, we realize that we have not given enough, only when it's too late.

Take for instance the story of Mary Ann Ontiveros and her mother, Shirley Bennett.

Photo credit: Little Things

One fateful night, Mary Ann fell asleep with the TV on, and was awakened to a report on CBS about a woman squatting at a shack by the Cook County jail.

The shack where Shirley Bennett was found living with her son Timothy.
Photo credit: CBS

According to the report by CBS Chicago, the woman, identified as Shirley Bennett, along with her son Timothy, was living in the place while waiting for another son, Billy, to get out of jail. They had been living there for five months and had to use a bucket as a bathroom.

Upon seeing the woman, however, Mary Ann's tears fell...

It was the mother that she has not seen for 25 years!

“It’s heartbreaking when I saw the report, I just started crying,” Mary Ann said. “I haven’t seen my mother in over 25 years and I didn’t know where she was.”

Shirley was taken to the hospital to have a cancerous tumor treated.

Shirley's sisters also reached out to CBS with the following messages:

“We been searching for her for 50 yrs. HELP HER.”

“We have been looking for since 1982 after our mother had passed… and I’m just so thankful that she’s alive.”

Watch this video and find out what happened to them next.

If you feel that this story of losing and finding a loved one squeezed your heart, here's yet another story of loss - one where the one lost will never be found again.